Jerry Seinfeld says Bill Cosby is still 'the biggest comedian of all time'

Jerry Seinfeld told a fellow comedian he still considered Bill Cosby to be "the biggest comedian of all time", despite the countless sexual assault allegations leveled at the former TV star.

"I think Bill Cosby is the biggest comedian of all time. I don't think anyone will ever match his production and quality of material," Seinfeld told Norm Macdonald, during an appearance on his online talkshow Norm Macdonald Live.

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Jerry Seinfeld heaps praise on Bill Cosby

The comedian tells Norm Macdonald he still considers Bill Cosby the 'biggest comedian of all time' despite his many sex assault allegations.

The duo were discussing their early comedic influences when conversation turned to Cosby, who was still facing trial on charges that he drugged and molested a woman in 2004 after a court case in June was declared a mistrial.

Cosby has been accused of rape and sexual misconduct by 59 women, stretching from the early 1960s to 2008.

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"Do you love Bill Cosby? Did you listen to those [Bill Cosby] records when you were a kid?" Seinfeld asked Macdonald.

"Sure," the host replied. "I had maybe the greatest Bill Cosby story ever. And now it's not in the top 10,000. Because I'll tell people the story, and then I'll constantly be interrupted with, 'And then, did he rape you?'"

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Seinfeld asked Macdonald whether he was "bothered by the fact that this comedian who you really thought was great turns out to be this person doing horrible things?"

Seinfeld and Macdonald, a cult figure who hosted Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update through the late '90s, have joined other comedians who've expressed ambivalent opinions regarding Cosby following the unearthed allegations.

In his recent Netflix special, Dave Chappelle riffed on Cosby's once-revered standing in the African-American community with the controversial punchline: "He rapes but he saves... But he probably does rape."

"I've never met Bill Cosby so I'm not defending him. Let's just remember that he has a valuable legacy that I can't just throw away," Chappelle said.

Judd Apatow, who made lampooning Cosby a feature of recent stand-up sets, said he'd "like to see [Cosby] in jail."

"I think that when celebrities commit heinous crimes, people don't want to let go of their love for their work and their lifelong relationship with them," he told fellow comic Marc Maron in a podcast.

Seinfeld, who recently completed a sell-out tour of Australia, will premiere his Netflix special – for which he was paid a reported $US20 million ($25 million) – in late September.